Corporated



Sept. 6, 1932. w. PEASLEE STEAM REST MECHANISM Filed March 30. 1927",

(je/Wenko@ ms/Dwarf@ Patented Sept. 6, 1932 i UNITESDSTATS .PAT

,"OFFICEgggK-i wILIQETTsIEAsLEnoF CINCINNATIf OHIO, l.eissIcnvoR To- CINCINNATI GRINDERS IN.- CORPORATED. OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, A CORPORATION or OHIO;

Appiicati'op'nied Malen 30,1'1927. serial fNo. 179,632.

This invention relatesv to improvements in steady rest mechanism vfor grinding machines and has for its ob] ect the provision or a novel ,I and improved mechanism kof this `'character ior producing a continuous 'even' supporting pressure against a work piece at a point or points remote from theengagement ofthe grindingwheel therewith.l

A further object of the present invention is the provision ofimprov'ed `work steadying mechanism `for use in connection with a -grinding machine which shall satisi'actorily engage and steady a work piece witha balanced'preslpiece C against-the pressure of the springs,

sure at a plurality of points,` so that distortion of the workpiece due to unequal pressures may be avoided. I i

-Anotherobject1of the invention is the provision of an iinprovedmechanisml of thetluid pressure type, in which yielding of the work engaging menibersdue tdpressure fluctuations -will be automaticallyy prevented".

' Other objects and advantages of the present inventionshould bereadily apparent by reference to the following specification taken 'in connection with the accompanying drawing, and it will be understoodthatl may maize anyy modifications in the specificl structural details hereinafter disclosed withinthe scope oitl .the appended claims, 'without departing from or exceeding the spirit of the invention.y

Figure 1 is a fragmentarysideelevationv of the mechanism in use. f.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view therethrough, and, f f

Figure 3 is'a horizontalsection of the ycontrol valve mechanism taken" as on thelinleJ S--S of Figure 2. j Y

Figure 4 is a semi-diagrammatic sectional View showing a variation in size of the two piston'fmembers. i

In the drawing the letter- A designates' the customary work Asupporting table of va grinding machine and the letter B the grinding wheel disposed in opposition to said table.

r These parts may be of anyconventional'construction,V the workC beingcarriedjb'y` the ltable as between head and. footstocksin the usual manner. f

my improved steady resthaving theclamp 4control valve ca -sing 22.` branches commu'nicating with the 'rear ends theblock '10 of f or clamps 11 for attachment thereof. Said lmember has the upwardly extendingportion 1.2 and the second horizontal portion kv13. Each of these portions provide a supportV for one of the work steadying shoes 14:.l

the stuiing boxes 16v and have on their outer ends the piston portions 17 riding in charm.

To press the shoes inward toward the work thebl'ock 10 is formed with the conduits or passages 2O and 21', the latter leadingto the Passage 20 has of the `two cylinders 18 for introduction of suitable actuating pressure therei'nto. '7 This pressure maybe either oil, compressed vair or 'other suitableact'uating fluid, which is'led f to valve casing 22th'rough' inlet pipe or Stube l 23 and exhausts therefrom through pipe 24. v

These may be Veither rigid pipes or flexible lconnections, depending on whether the steady rest `is employed inconnection= with a reciprocating table or a plunge cut type of grinder.

Thesev shoes are carried vby the inward ter.- mini of the plungers 15 which extend through 7 The valve kcasing'22 includes the passage 25, Y

communicating with'pass'age 21 of the block, the outlet port 26,V inlet port 27 inlet valve chamber 2 8 [and the control valve lv chamber` [29. Disposed in valve chamber 28 is a poppet or Vlike 'valve' 30 actuated'I into closed position -a's spring 31. This valve when in closed vpt )sltio'n prevents'reverse flow of the actuat- Y ygingfluid, sothat` pressure'when entering the main valve and distributing pipes will be retained thereby and prevented from escape finto the supply line as upon variations of pressure or the like, so that when pressure vOnce introduced will be maintained until suitably released. Disposed vwithin the main valve chamber 29is rotary valve'32, having passage 33 selectively'fadapted' to connect inlet 23 with port 25.v or port 25 with exhaust or outlet 26. The position of this valvemay be manually controlledbyattached handle 34. It will be understood that in grinding of cylindrical f worky pieces` a suitable feeding -the work which may tend to spring same Steady -rests are somewhat downwardly. therefore desirable to prevent'this springing or distortion of the work, in order that the same may be ground to an accuracy determined in fractional thousandths of an inch. Inasmuch as the diameter of the work decreases during the grinding, it has in the past been-customary to frictionally continuously set up the steady restsl employed by hand to provide support for the work, a delicate operation to prevent undue pressure and equal ad- `justment of these wor-k supporting members.

jAs contrasted with'thisin the use of the present invention, as the work has been placed in position and ready forgrinding, the valve 32 yisshifted as indicated in Figure 3, allowing actuating pressure to iiow inward from tube 23 through the valve and into the pressure chambers 18, equally inwardly actuatingthe work engaging shoes with a pressure which maybe determined as by gauge-35.

' When thisI pressure has been secured, if the desired pressure isl less than the total available pressure in the actuating line, the valve may loe-shifted to an` intermediate position,

shutting off further ingress and at the same time preventingescape of the pressure within the system. If, however,the pressure is substantially upto maximum, the `valve isleft in open position, but the control valve prevents escape of pressure in-the event that there may be fluctuations in the line, due to other use of pressure from the common systern- 'or theflike. By suitable manipulation therefore of the controlrvalve as guided by gauge 35, the contact shoes maybe readily 'maintained with an equal and ,constant pressure against the work, which-pressure may be maintained lfrom the initiation `of the grinding until the work has been completed,

f irrespective of the amountrof stock removed and therefore variation from initial position of the work steadying members. Also, with the mechanism illustrated'it will be seen that the pressure of the two steady rest members will be equal, although it will be understood that if a variable balanced ratio between the members were desired it can be effected by varying the diameterof the pistons and their containing chambers.

When the grinding has been completed the fcontrol handle'34 is shifted to the position shown on dott-ed lines in Figure 3,-connecting port 25 with outlet .24when thek pressure is released and the springs 19 serve to retract the steady rests to their most rearward posisteadyrests until they engage the work will be effected; y

To variably limit the movement of the contact shoe 14 in the direction of the work piece C, use may be made of the bushing 36 having threaded engagement with the portion 12 of the main frame and having at its inner end a flange 37 adapted to contact with piston 17 The outer portion of the bushing 36 is provided with Aa peripheral ilange 38 bearing the graduations 39 for cooperation with pointer 4 0 kon the member' 12.

It will be noted'that the stuiiing box` 16 is carried by the bushing 3 6 sealing in plunger 15 while the interiitting of the inner portion ofthe bushing with member 12 and the interlocking of the threads o`f the outer part thereof serve as a suiicient seal for the forward end of the pressure chamber.

It will thus be seen that the bushing may be readily adjusted in Vand out as desired to limit exactlyA the ultimate inward movement of plunger 15A and its contactl shoe 14 land thus to control the final rsize of the finished work piece. t i

Mention has previously been made of the fact that variation in the piston size will vary the relative pressures of the two plungers against the workpiece. This is illustrated in Figure 4 in which use is made of the large piston 41 on the horizontal plunger to augment the pressure of the work toward the grindingV wheel for stock removal, while a smaller piston 42 is employed to resist the downward springing of the work, these two pistons being so designed that proper effective ressure for maintaining the work piece in a alanced position will ,bey applied thereagainst. I

I claim Y 1,. A steady rest mechanism of the character described, including a supporting block, pressure cylinderswithin the block, pistons movable in the cylinders and having projecting work engaging shoes, means for jointly introducing pressure into the cylinders, and automatic means preventing reverse iiow of introduced pressure.

means for manually-controlling the introduction and relief of pressure from the cylinders.

8. A steady rest mechanism of the character described, including a supporting block, pressure cylinders Within the block, pistons movable in the cylinders and having projecting Work engaging shoes, means for jointly introducing pressure into the cylinders, automatic means preventing reverse flow of introduced pressure, additional cooperating means carried by the adjusting means and supporting block for manually controlling the introduction and relief of pressure from the cylinders, and independent resilient means for reversely actuating the pistons on relief of pressure thereagainst. v j

4. A steady rest mechanism for grinding machines, including a supporting block, pressure cylinders Within the block' oi different diameters, pistons in the cylinders, a joint pressure supply line for said cylinders, and Work contacting members carried by the pistons and movableinto engagement with the Work, the piston areas being related to counteract the particular Lgrinding Wheel forces operating against the respective Work contacting members. y

5. A hydraulic steady rest mechanism for a cylindrical grinder including a main block having angularly related pressure cylinders formed therein, pistons slidable Within the cylinders and having projecting portions terminating in work engaging` shoes for engagement with peripherally spaced portions orn the Work to take up the cut pressure and feed pressure of the grinding Wheel, a pressure supply line for the cylinders, means controlling the admission of pressure to the cylinders, means for indicating the amount of pressure so introduced whereby undue urge of the Contact shoes may be prevented and means for automatically preventing decrease of pressure in the chambers.

6. In a pressure steadyy rest mechanism, a cylinder block, a cylinder, a piston operative therein, a steady'rest shoe operatively associated with said piston and shiftable thereby, a guide sleeve for said piston interfitting With the cylinder and having a limiting abutment, and an exterior threaded portion on the sleeve adjustablek in the cylinder block for variably limiting the movement of the piston.

7 In a steady rest mechanism the combination of a support, a cylinder formed therein, a piston in the cylinder, hydraulic pressure for actuating the piston through the cylinder in one direction, a lrod extending from the piston having formed at its free end a contact shoe, a sleeve threaded into one end of the cylinder and surrounding the piston rod, the inner end of the sleeve being adapted to contact with the piston Vto limit its v-I'ri'ovemei'it`un'der influence of the hydraulic pressure, and means for variably adjusting the sleeve relative to the cylinder to variably limit the movement ofthe piston adjusting the sleeve rela-tive to the cylinder to variably limit the' movement of the piston in the cylinder, means'including suitable'packing and packing gland carried by the sleeve surroundingthe piston rod to prevent escape of hydraulic pressure from the cylinder around the said piston rod, and

means carried by the sleeve' and support co- .i

operating with one another for yindicating the` adjustment of the sleeve and cylinder.

9. Inl a steady rest mechanism the combination of a support, a cylinder'V formed therein, a piston 'in the cylinder, hydraulic pressure for actuating the piston through the cylinder in one direction, arod extending romthe piston havingv formed atfits free end a. contact shoe, asleeve lthreaded into one end of the cylinder and'surrounding the lpiston rod, the inner end of the sleeve being 'adapted tocontact with the piston to limit its movement under influence of the hydraulic pressure, means for variably zidjustingl the sleeve relative tothe cylinder tol variably-limit the movement of the pis'.-

ton in the cylinder, means' including suiti able packing yand packing gland carried by the sleeve surrounding the piston rod to y prevent escape of hydraulic pressure from the cylinder'around the said piston rod, and means carried by the sleeve and support cooperating with one another for indicating the adjustment of the sleeve and cylinder, said means comprising an enlarged flange on the outer end of the sleeve having formed thereon graduation marks, and a pointer carried by the support overlying the said flange and graduation marks.

l0. In a steady rest mechanism thev combination of a support, a cylinder formed therein, a piston in the cylinder, hydraulic pressure for actuating the piston through the cylinder in one direction, a rod extending from the piston having formed at its free end a contact shoe, a sleeve threaded into one end of the cylinder and surrounding the piston rod, the inner end of the sleeve being adapted to contact with the piston to r limit its movement under influence of the hydraulic pressure, and means for vari'ably adjusting the sleeve relative to the cylinder to variably limit the movement of the piston in the` cylinder, the inner end of the sleeve additionally having vformed therein a counterhored seat, and a spring surrounding the piston rod having one end contacting the seat and the other end contacting the piston to eect 'a shifting of the piston inthe other direction.

11. In a steady rest mechanism the com-- binationof a support, a pair of cylinders v each of a different diameter formed in said support, a piston iitted inV each cylinder, a

'1 Work vcontactshoe associated With each piston, one of said shoes contacting With the Work at a point betweenY the Vcenter thereof and the point of contact `With the grinding Wheel to take the cut thrust'on the Work and the other of said shoes contacting With the Work at a point in opposition to the infeed thrust of the grinding Wheel, and means for exerting a diiferent constant unit pressure on each of the pistons to thereby exert a different pressure through the Contact shoes on the Work during grinding. Y

12. In a steady rest mechanism thecombnation of a support, a pair of cylinders each of a different diameter formed in said support, a piston iitted in each cylinder, a Work Contact shoev associated With each piston, one of said shoes contacting with the Work at a point between the center thereof and the point of contactwith the `grinding Wheel to take the Vcut thrust onothe Work and the other of said shoes contacting With the Work at a point in opposition to the infeed-thrust vofthe grinding Wheel, meansV for exerting a constant unit pressure on each of the pistons to thereby exert a different pressure through the Contact shoes on the Work during grinding, and means limiting the movement of theA shoe in opposition to the infeed thrust of the grinding Wheel.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature,

4VVILLETTS PEASLEE. 

